Exhibition hails success against I.P.R. violators

Share

China's product safety agency has cracked down on more than 1,200 manufacturers involved in the production of more than one billion yuan (HK$1.2 billion) worth of fake products in a nine-month campaign against the infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR), according to a government-organised online exhibition that opened yesterday.

Led by the Ministry of Commerce, 26 departments published the results of their efforts to crack down on IPR violations from October to June. The exhibition, which can be viewed at www.ipraction.cn, will last until October 11.

In his introduction to the exhibition, Premier Wen Jiabao said China would have to rely on scientific and technological advancement and innovation to deepen reform and further change its development mode in the 12th five-year period (2011-2015). 'This requires better IPR protection, and we must firmly contain IPR infringement and the production and sales of counterfeit goods in certain regions,' he wrote.

The manufacture of fake luxury-brands is one of the most widespread violations, according to the exhibition. One major case, highlighted by the commerce bureau of Wuxi, in Jiangsu province, in December, involved more than 50 million yuan worth of garments, shoes and glasses counterfeiting 78 brands, including Burberry and Prada.

In January, Beijing's medicine supervisor incinerated more than 60 tonnes of fake medications and medical equipment, while late last year police in the capital raided 60 factories and seized 371 kinds of counterfeit medicine.

Part of the campaign included urging government bodies to take the lead in using authorised software. By the end of May, all 135 central-level departments had spent 140 million yuan to procure authorised software, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Provincial and local governments were required to use only authorised software by the end of October, and many central state-owned companies had also started doing so.

Chang Limin, from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's science and technology department, said 97 per cent of computers sold on the mainland were now installed with authorised operating systems.

However, Zhang Wei, director of the online audio and visual programmes supervision centre under the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, said the growing number of internet users and the growth of file-sharing websites had become an obstacle in protecting IPR for books, music, videos and films.

'There're more than 30,000 films available online [on Chinese websites] now ... and the number of people watching videos online increased from 2007's 160 million to 280 million last year,' she said.

66%

The percentage of counterfeit goods seized in the United States last year that came from China, which were valued at US$124 million